1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera. This invention particularly relates to an electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera provided with a zoom lens, wherein a certain part of an electrical wiring, which electrical wiring is electrically connected to a sensor of a shutter section of the camera, and an electrical wiring of a shutter actuating section for actuating a shutter so as to open and close the shutter are connected to each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order for shutters of cameras to be opened and closed, shutter blades located within a shutter section are actuated by an actuator (i.e., a shutter actuating section) In ordinary cameras and cameras provided with zoom lenses, the actuator is located on the side forward or backward from a wall member, which constitutes the shutter section and is approximately normal to an optical axis direction. A conventional technique, in which the actuator is located on the side backward from the shutter section, is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63(1988)-208013 (Japanese Patent No. 2649516). The disclosed conventional technique concerns a camera provided with a zoom lens, in which an actuator is located between a front-set lens and a rear-set lens capable of moving with respect to the front-set lens.
Ordinarily, the actuator is constituted of a member, such as a solenoid device. An electrical wiring for supplying electric power to the actuator is connected within the lens barrel to the side of the camera main body.
Also, the shutter section is provided with a sensing section (i.e., a sensor) for detecting a position, to which the lens has been delivered within the lens barrel, and obtaining an accurate degree of shutter opening. An electrical wiring, which extends toward the camera main body, is connected to the sensing section. The electrical wiring for supplying electric power to the actuator and apart of the electrical wiring extending from the shutter section are electrically connected to each other at an electrical connecting section within the lens barrel.
In cases where the zoom lens is utilized, the rear-set lens is moved toward the shutter section, i.e. forwardly, and therefore the problems occur in that a required space cannot easily be ensured on the side backward from the shutter section. With the conventional technique described above, a lens diameter is set to be small, and a required space is thereby ensured at a peripheral region of the shutter section. However, if the lens diameter is set to be large, the space for accommodating the electrical connecting section or the actuator cannot always be ensured. Also, in cases where the electrical connecting section or electric parts, such as the actuator, are large, the problems occur in that the space for accommodating the electrical connecting section or the electric parts cannot be ensured within the lens barrel.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera, wherein an electrical connecting section and electric parts are capable of being located within a narrow space in a lens barrel, and a size of a camera provided with a zoom lens is capable of being set to be small.
The present invention provides an electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera, the camera comprising a shutter section located within a lens barrel, a front-set lens secured to the shutter section, and a rear-set lens, which is associated with a plurality of cam followers and is driven through a cam so as to move along an optical axis direction and with respect to the front-set lens, an electrical connecting section, at which a certain part of an electrical wiring extending from the shutter section toward a camera main body and an electrical wiring extending from a shutter actuating section associated with the shutter section are electrically connected to each other, being located within the lens barrel,
wherein the rear-set lens has at least one flat peripheral region at a periphery of the rear-set lens,
a cam follower, which is disposed on the side of the flat peripheral region of the rear-set lens, is located such that a predetermined space is formed on the side outward from the flat peripheral region of the rear-set lens,
the predetermined space is ensured between the front-set lens and the rear-set lens in a state, in which the rear-set lens takes a position optically closest to the front-set lens,
the electrical wiring, which extends from the shutter section toward the camera main body, passes through a position in the vicinity of the flat peripheral region of the rear-set lens and extends toward the camera main body, and
the electrical connecting section is located within the predetermined space.
The electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera in accordance with the present invention may be modified such that the electrical wiring, which extends from the shutter section toward the camera main body, is constituted
of a long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board, the long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board is provided with a circuit extension at a part, which is to be located within the predetermined space, the circuit extension being projected from the part of the long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board in a direction intersecting with a longitudinal direction of the long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board, and
the circuit extension is folded back so as to act as the electrical connecting section having electrodes on the side facing the shutter actuating section.
Alternatively, the electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera in accordance with the present invention may be modified such that the electrical wiring, which extends from the shutter section toward the camera main body, is constituted of a long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board,
the long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board is provided with conductor pads at a part, which is to be located within the predetermined space,
one of two connectors is electrically connected to the conductor pads,
the other connector is electrically connected to the electrical wiring, which extends from the shutter actuating section, and
the electrical connecting section, at which the one connector and the other connector are electrically connected to each other, is located within the predetermined space.
Also, the electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera in accordance with the present invention may be modified such that the rear-set lens also has a different flat peripheral region at the periphery of the rear-set lens, which periphery is on the side facing the shutter actuating section, and
the shutter actuating section and the electrical connecting section are located on the sides opposite to each other with the optical axis intervening therebetween.
With the electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera in accordance with the present invention, the rear-set lens, which is moved along the optical axis direction and with respect to the front-set lens, has at least one flat peripheral region at the periphery of the rear-set lens. Also, the cam follower, which is disposed on the side of the flat peripheral region of the rear-set lens, is located such that the predetermined space is formed on the side outward from the flat peripheral region of the rear-set lens. The predetermined space is ensured between the front-set lens and the rear-set lens in the state, in which the rear-set lens takes the position optically closest to the front-set lens. Further, the electrical wiring, which extends from the shutter section toward the camera main body, passes through the position in the vicinity of the flat peripheral region of the rear-set lens and extends toward the camera main body, and the electrical connecting section is located within the predetermined space. Therefore, the predetermined space is capable of being ensured within the narrow space in the lens barrel of the camera, and the electrical connections are capable of being made within the predetermined space. Accordingly, the size of the camera is capable of being set to be small. Also, with the electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera in accordance with the present invention, wherein the flat peripheral region is formed at the periphery of the rear-set lens, the electrical wiring, which extends from the shutter section toward the camera main body, is capable of passing through the position in the vicinity of the flat peripheral region of the rear-set lens. Therefore, at the time of a zooming operation, the movable lens is capable of moving smoothly without interfering with the electrical wiring.
With the modification of the electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera in accordance with the present invention, the electrical wiring, which extends from the shutter section toward the camera main body, may be constituted of the long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board, and the long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board may be provided with the circuit extension at the part, which is to be located within the predetermined space, the circuit extension being projected from the part of the long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board in the direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board. Also, the circuit extension may be folded back so as to act as the electrical connecting section having the electrodes on the side facing the shutter actuating section. With the modification described above, the small electrical connecting section is capable of being acquired within the predetermined space, which is ensured in the manner described above, and therefore the risk that the electrical wiring will interfere with other parts is capable of reduced even further.
With the different modification of the electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera in accordance with the present invention, the electrical wiring, which extends from the shutter section toward the camera main body, may be constituted of the long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board, and the long, narrow strip-shaped flexible circuit board may be provided with the conductor pads at the part, which is to be located within the predetermined space. One of the two connectors may be electrically connected to the conductor pads, and the other connector may be electrically connected to the electrical wiring, which extends from the shutter actuating section. Also, the electrical connecting section, at which the one connector and the other connector are electrically connected to each other, may be located within the predetermined space. With the different modification described above, a wide variety of electrical connecting sections constituted of the connectors, which may be of various different sizes and various different types, are capable of being located within the predetermined space.
With the further different modification of the electrical connecting structure in a lens barrel of a camera in accordance with the present invention, the rear-set lens may also have a different flat peripheral region at the periphery of the rear-set lens, which periphery is on the side facing the shutter actuating section, and the shutter actuating section and the electrical connecting section may be located on the sides opposite to each other with the optical axis intervening therebetween. With the further different modification described above, a shutter actuating section having a comparatively large size and an electrical connecting section having a comparatively large size are capable of being located within the lens barrel of the camera.